UPDATE –

The booksale was held November 14 and 15 and November 18–22, 2009, in the former Compare Foods, at 1514 Garner Station Blvd. in the South Station Shopping Center, near the Raleigh/Garner town limits. Expenses for the sale were lower than normal, as well. The site was offered rent-free by CBRE Realty and BPG Management Company with the library paying utility and security costs. In addition, fewer tables were rented, as shelving from the former grocery store was incorporated for the sale. Finally, labor at the sale was at a premium, as more than 350 individuals volunteered hours during the sale.

Close to 300,000 books were offered for sale. These books had been donated to public libraries throughout Wake County or were removed from library shelves due to decreased demand. Approximately 52,620 books were donated to Wake County Public Schools and to Wake County Government agencies prior to the public sale “for free” to use in classrooms, libraries, waiting rooms, clinics, and for training throughout the county. This donation from the library system to other service providers in Wake County was a $105,240 value (at booksale prices). Fewer than 6% of the books remained after the public sale and were shredded for recycled paper and cardboard rather than being forwarded to the landfill.

This large community event is enthusiastically supported by the public; nearly 17,000 individuals visited the sale during its seven-day run.  The sale could not happen without the year-long work of volunteers who sort and store the books, or without the staff of the County’s General Services Administration who work to assist library employees to prepare the building and clean the space when finished.

Plans for the next sale will begin in the early fall of 2010. For more information, contact Dale Cousins at dale.cousins@wakegov.com.